Purchase car in Mexico

I'm in the process of building a villa in Nayarit and have been renting a car in PV with all the insurance. For staying a week the rental cost is over $500USD. I've been going about everyother month so the cost is adding up. I'm considering buying me something I can store in a mini storage or the like and use it when I'm there. What are the issues? There is something about a car being over 10 years old. I don't need a new car just something reliable. I have a FM-3 which I keep current. Comments are appreciated. Bevan

Re: [Bevan] Purchase car in Mexico

For a Mexican plated car whether new or old there are no age rules. Tenencias are the problem but they are supposed to be eliminated after 2008. I can think of no other problems except that you will find that new cars are about $2000 to $4000 higher in price than in the USA. So, naturally, used cars also tend to be higher.

Re: [Bevan] Purchase car in Mexico

I recently bought a used Mexican-plated car. It's a 1987 Suzuki Samurai that was imported in 1997, and I do not pay tenencia. I was also told "ten years", but I'm not clear if that applies to the age of the car or to the length of time since it was nationalized. If you buy a Mexican car, you'll need a Mexican driver's license and insurance, but both are inexpensive and easy to obtain (at least in Baja California Sur).

Re: [Bevan] Purchase car in Mexico

I've owned two Mexican plated vehicles. I had to get a Mexican drivers license but that was no big deal. You'll have to abide by the state laws where you live. I drove one of the vehicles for two years with outdated plates, no drivers license and no registration. I know, I'm a bad boy but I never had any serious problems. Got stopped a few times but talked my way out of it. I'm not advocating this method rather implying that many things are negotiable in Mexico and not so stringent like you'd find in other countries.

Re: [Esteban] Purchase car in Mexico

I don't remember the exact rates, but I learned from a post made by Esperanza years ago on this or another forum that one pays tenencia for only the first ten years of the car's age. After that I understand that there is a fee but that it is much smaller. Please correct me if I'm wrong Esperanza

Re: [johanson] Purchase car in Mexico

I have two nationalized 1993 vehicles. I paid approximately $45.00 U.S. dollars last year, in Jalisco State, to register both. Tenencia is paid only for the first ten years of the car's age. I never paid tenencia as I nationalized my vehicles when they were 10 years old under an amnesty program.

Re: [Esteban] Purchase car in Mexico

A couple of people participating in this thread have said they had to get a Mexican driver's license (among other things) when they purchased a Mexican plated vehicle.

Do the Mexican states involved, like states in the USA, take away your previous driver's license?

I have moved around a fair amount in the USA, from one state to another, and I have had a valid DL since I was 15. Every new state I moved to required that I eventually (some states allow more time than others, but it is usually 30 days) get a new DL in the new state. In every new state when I applied for the new DL they took away my old one.

You can lie and say you don't have it, but then you have to take not only the written tests, but also the practical driving test. Same thing if you present the old DL and it is expired.

So, do Mexican states want to see your valid US driver's license and then confiscate it as they do in the USA?

I have to assume there are no written driving exams or practical driving exams in Mexico. Right?

Re: [JohnBleazard] Purchase car in Mexico

The laws vary state to state. Yes, in many states, you have to take a written and drivers test. Depends on the law and situation. You also have to have a blood sample drawn so they can put your blood type on the license. I didn't have to give up my Arizona license. As to moving from one Mexican state to another, I don't know if you have to give up one for another.

Re: [JohnBleazard] Purchase car in Mexico

In Jalisco, if you have a valid US driver's license no road test is required, just the written test. The questions and answers are online and downloadable easily. There are about 100 questions and answers and the test will include about 15 - 20 of them as I recall. I kept my US driver's license.

Re: [JohnBleazard] Purchase car in Mexico

I showed my drivers' licenses from other countries when applying for my Mexican DL, but I wasn't asked to give them up. Nor did I take a written or driving test, although Mexican friends here (Baja California Sur) had told me to be prepared to take the written one. This may be a judgment call, even at the same transito, but the exams do exist, even for Mexicans.

Edit: They accepted a blood type card I already had, so I didn't have to have a new sample done.

Re: [Georgia] Purchase car in Mexico

When I took the test downtown Guadalajara at Alcalde, I did indeed have to take a driving test, even though I had a valid U.S. license. I also had a letter from Maskaras clinic with my blood type which they never looked at - just took my word for it when I filled out the application. The test was 20 questions.

Re: [JohnBleazard] Purchase car in Mexico

When I got my license in Durango state, my valid California license allowed me to avoid written and driving tests. I keep the CA license. All I had to do was get a blood type test, pay some money, and have my picture taken.

My first renewal was a simple 10 minute affair.

My second renewal was a nightmare from hell, which I have documented elsewhere on MXC. It finally ended when a friend called her friend in the Governor's office. It's nice to have friends with friends in high places.

Re: [Bevan] Purchase car in Mexico

Hi. Where are you building in Nayarit? You can get a much better deal from Gecko Car Rentals in Bucerias. They are much easier to deal with than the P.V. companies and include insurance in their rates. They will even pick you up at the airport. Once they get to know you, they will even leave your car at the airport. Just get the keys from the parking lot attendant. Everybody I know uses them.

Re: [jl1] Purchase car in Mexico

We am just starting the search for a place to move in Mexico and planing to make our first trip soon. I just found a rental car for rent from Hertz for $72.00 per week out of the Cancun airport (I'm not sure where Nayarit is). It is a standard transmission and no air, but I'm not sure how important those features are there.